139113 SRU Mag Back NEW - Slippery Rock University

Gaining Ground
as a Premier
Institution
Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest
and most selective all-discipline
honor society, installs chapter at
Slippery Rock University
Keynote speaker David Scobey of the
University of Michigan captured the
significance of Slippery Rock University’s
fall installation into Phi Kappa Phi.
“Acceptance as a chapter of Phi Kappa Phi
is a measure of the honor society’s
confidence in both the quality of the
faculty and undergraduate education at
Slippery Rock University, and a measure of
the intellectual achievement and seriousness
of SRU’s students,” said Scobey, director of
the Arts of Citizenship Program.
Scobey joined SRU President Robert
Smith, Interim Provost William Williams
and humanities Dean William McKinney
for an installation ceremony at the University
Union. With their proud parents looking
on, SRU inducted 40 students–all of them
ranked in the top 10 percent of their class.
“It’s quite an honor,” said senior Angelé
Waugaman, an accounting major from
Kittanning. “It’s very hard to get into Phi
Kappa Phi. It’s nationally known, and
there are so many renowned people in it.
For them to come to SRU and ask us to
become a member is a big honor. It means
a lot to this University, and it shows where
we’re going.”
SRU’s Dr. Bill McKinney, dean of the
College of Humanities, Fine and
Performing Arts, signs the
charter. He was installed as
chapter president. Behind
him is Dr. Ronald
Johnson, northeast
region vice
president for Phi
Kappa Phi.
Forty SRU students and 16 faculty and administrators were
installed as members of the prestigious academic honor
society Phi Kappa Phi this fall. Formed in 1897, Phi Kappa
Phi’s membership includes Nobel and Pulitzer prize winners,
the founder of Netscape and former U.S. presidents. It has
approved only 294 chapters nationwide.
To become a member of Phi Kappa Phi, a
college or university must petition and go
through a rigorous process to prove that it
provides its students a quality academic
experience. Having a chapter is quite a
distinction, because Phi Kappa Phi has
only 294 chapters nationwide.
Five SRU faculty became first-time
members as well, and joined 11 other
faculty and administrators, including Smith
and McKinney, as charter members. That
means they already belonged to Phi Kappa
Phi, the Phi Beta Kappa or Sigma Xi honor
societies.
At initiation, new members received certificates of
membership and gold pins. The top 10 percent of seniors
and 7.5 percent of juniors were eligible to join.
“These persons have been invited to
membership based on superior scholarship,
good character and demonstrated
excellence in their fields,” McKinney said.
Dr. David Scobey, director of the Arts of Citizenship
Program and an associate professor at the Taubman
College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the
University of Michigan, gives the keynote address at SRU’s
Phi Kappa Phi installation. He urged students to become
citizen-scholars, leaving their mark in the classroom and
the public square.
Members represent the best of
what higher education has to offer
Membership is earned, not just conferred,
said Dr. Ronald Johnson, Phi Kappa Phi’s
northeast regional vice president, who
attended the installation. The honor society
evaluated SRU’s academic programs,
faculty, buildings and success of graduates
for a full year before approving a chapter,
he said.
The primary objective of Phi Kappa Phi is
the recognition and encouragement of
superior scholarship in all academic
disciplines, he added. The society is
convinced that in recognizing and
honoring those persons of good character
who have excelled in scholarship, in
whatever field, it will stimulate others to
strive for excellence.
Students benefit in many ways:
•Membership gives them and job seekers
an added element of prestige
• They may compete for scholarships and
awards
• They may obtain research grants of up to
$2,500
• They may compete for postbaccalaureate
fellowships
Excellence is the defining yardstick between
colleges and universities that merely float
along with the tide versus those that excel
and rise to new heights. Clearly, SRU is
gaining ground as a premier institution.
“Phi Kappa Phi will make Slippery Rock
more visible to people who may be looking
for a place where they can find a niche,”
said SRU’s Dr. Thomas Gaither, professor
of biology. “It is respected in science, but
it’s an interdisciplinary society.”
SRU faculty await initiation into Phi Kappa Phi, the
nation’s oldest all-discipline honor society.
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